learning new stuff everyday. How does something like F=ma or the law of conservation of energy get to be a law?
The "Laws" of science are simply formulations...think recipe.
Mom's chocolate cake = 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs, 4 squares chocolate etc. baked
1 hour at 400 degrees.
Force = mass times acceleration
For the chocolate cake if you have only 1/4 cup of butter the "Mom's Chocolate Cake Law" tells you how much of the other ingredients to use.
6 a : a statement of an order or relation of phenomena that so far as is known is invariable under the given conditions
b : a general relation proved or assumed to hold between mathematical or logical expressions
Merriam-Webster, I. 1996, c1993. Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (10th ed.). Merriam-Webster: Springfield, Mass., U.S.A.